How to create B2B marketing content that people actually want to read and share

Tips for creating effective, engaging B2B marketing content 

Want to hear a little secret that may shock you? Many B2B content marketing programmes aren't actually experiencing the results that marketers are after. Before you gasp in dismay, it’s worth pointing out that this is not for the reason you’d think. It’s not because content marketing isn’t effective (it really is), it’s because only 44% of B2B marketers actually have a clear indication of what success looks like when it comes to content creation.  

When you think about how much content is pumped out onto social networks daily (even hourly) it becomes overwhelming. How are people supposed to find your product, your solution, or your brand amidst all of that? How are your blog articles supposed to drive traffic to your website if your posts aren’t found by anyone new? 

Don’t worry though - it’s time to remind yourself of one of the most important principles of B2B content marketing: 

Your goal isn’t just to create content, but to create shareable content. 

Creating unremarkable content isn’t just a waste of your time, it won’t connect or resonate with your audience. And without that connection, why would you continue doing it?  

So, how do you create shareable B2B marketing content that resonates? 

Here are some of our most fundamental tactics, tips and tricks to help boost your engagement and ramp up shares on your content.  

Psssst… None of these B2B content creation tips are particularly complicated or demanding, which is what makes them so effective and so often overlooked. 

​​Prioritise your reader over SEO 

SEO is essential, no doubt. Those search engine web-crawly spiders are important for indexing and ranking your site, but they’re not your primary audience. After all, they’re not going to buy your product or need your service.  

It’s critical to remember who your reader is, and that people only share information if they find it valuable and they think that their connections will benefit from it too.  

So, what will get your audience interested? What can you tell them that will help them live their best lives, both on and off the clock?  

There are ways to satisfy the search engines and your searching users when creating marketing content. Some of these include:  

Mix it up with keywords when creating content 

Use variations on your keywords. Consider how people would talk about these keywords, how they’d search for them, and then include them like that in the process of your B2B content creation. You’re aiming for natural, conversational copy written for humans, by humans, instead of  botspeak.  

Use headings for readability  

Draw attention to the important stuff. This works for readers and crawlers alike, who are both prone to rapid scrolling. It’s also a vital step in creating the “Double Readership Path”, which is essential for the digestibility (and success) of any content. You’ve nailed Double Readership Path when you can read the headline, sub-heads, and visuals and get a complete story. This is the real secret to enticing someone to spend their time and mental bandwidth actually reading your content. Reading is important, because they’re less likely to share it if they haven’t read it.  

Dig deeper by writing longer pieces of content 

Produce longer pieces of written content. It might sound paradoxical, but the longer the post, the more likely it is to be shared. This makes sense when you think about it because the longer the post, the more space there is to share useful information with your readers, build on an opinion and make a compelling argument.  

Plus, the bots now love it. Google’s updates now give higher SEO ranking to longer posts, which means 300 words is a waste of time and digital ink. People are looking for value, which means they want larger amounts of information.  
 

Know what your readers want, focus content creation on giving it to them 

To define what types of content are best for your readers, you need to ask: 

1. Who is your ideal reader? (hello, buyer personas!) 
2. What types of content do these readers want to read and share? 

Look at what types of B2B marketing content they’re already sharing and find the golden thread that ties it all together. While answering these questions will be different for each audience, people generally share content that is at least one of the following: 

• Interesting 

• Entertaining 

• Informative 

 
What makes B2B content interesting and informative?  

Effective content often has an emotional hook. This doesn’t mean you’re going to start adding personal anecdotes to every social post, blog article or emailer, but it does mean you will need to know your audience really well to know how to hook them on an emotional level.  

This means knowing their pressure points. Having an understanding of what keeps them up at night and acknowledging that you understand their frustrations is a good way to connect. Content can be improved by simply making it more personalised and focused on addressing specific problems, struggles, or questions that an individual reader may have.  

Spend time on creating content that’s easy to read 

The gateway to the brain is the eyeballs, and these need to be tempted with visual variety. How many times have you been to a website but left almost immediately because of how challenging it was to read a post?  

You did this because: 

1. Design matters. 
2. Formatting matters. 

Readers want “scannable” content that they can easily consume on mobile devices. To provide the eye candy that makes your B2B content more attractive, you can use spatial garnishes such as chunky paragraphs, bold headings, clever sub-heads, emphatic bullet points, numbered lists, pull quotes, and so on. 

This means creating written content with a visual component  

When you're faced with a wall of text, the perfect trick to making it engaging is to add supporting imagery. Images work like magic across all platforms, no matter how fast someone is reading or just quickly scanning. Even if they're just glancing through, a captivating image with an important pullquote or a key point from your post will grab attention in a snap. 

But visuals have a double role to play in B2B content creation. Another fantastic reason why you should never skip adding an image to your post, is because this little visual works harder by making it easier for people to share your content socially.  

Remember, we’re all about that social sharing.  

When someone shares your post, you want it to make waves, right? Well, guess what? Every social media network out there is all about visuals (and videos too!). That means posts with eye-catching images (and awesome videos!) tend to attract more attention and are more likely to be shared by others. So, don't miss out on the opportunity to make your content stand out with a little help from those visuals. Why? Because a picture is worth a thousand words and hopefully a few thousand shares.  

If your readers find your content valuable and they share it, this extends your reach organically. This translates to greater opportunities to attract even more visitors, convert them to leads, and generate more sales opportunities.  

 
Outsourcing B2B content creation: the success story writes itself  

If you’re looking for a faster, more effective way to improve your content marketing, outsourcing your B2B content creation is a power move. By working with a reputable B2B content creation agency, you can get the high-quality content you need to reach your target audience and deliver business results.